In the production of crude oil, it is often necessary to use dehydrators to remove water from the crude oil prior to transporting the crude to the refinery. The dehydrators are fire-tube heaters for heating the oil to effect separation between the oil and any water and debris contained therewithin. The stacks are usually a steel pipe 6 inches to 12 inches in diameter that normally extend vertically upward. The dehydrators operate intermittently and often are automatically and remotely controlled.
During the time the combustion burners are not burning, birds, bats, and other flying animals can enter the dehydrators through the stack where they build nests and when the combustion burners ignite, the flue gases rising through the stack kills the animals. This is a serious environmental problem because many of the birds and bats are protected species and therefore the environmental authorities require something to be done to prevent the birds from being killed. It is also a problem for the oil companies because workmen must clean the dead birds, nests, and associate material from the dehydrators.
This invention provides an effective and inexpensive solution to this environmental problem by securing an apertured barrier over the dehydrator stack outlet that precludes entrance of the animals thereinto and offers negligible resistance to the emission of the flue gases therefrom. Barriers of the prior art fail to address the problem of a bird perched on top of the stack. The gas can escape up the stack without being ignited. The hydrocarbon gaseous product used to fire most of these furnaces is, of course, noxious to the birds and bats. It is also necessary to provide a guard around the air intake adjacent to the burner. In fact, all openings into the heater combustion chamber must have a barrier provided to keep the animals out of harms way.
This invention is applicable to all dehydrator vessels having a vent stack. This invention also can be used in conjunction with the vent extending from oil storage tanks, because in many cases, dead birds are found within empty oil storage tanks.